The Rape of Sango
by FreyOfDavis
Summary: After a brutal attack on one of their own, the group has to figure out how to move on. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

The Rape of Sango, Chap 1

Warning: This is a story about a brutal assault on a beloved character, and the repercussions for her and the group. I don't describe the assault itself, but if I've done my job, you will be able to imagine what happened. I hope you give it a chance, but if you'd just rather not read about something like that, believe me, I understand (this was a hard story to write, for that exact reason.)

Inuyasha was walking through the forest back to where the group had camped. Miroku was with him, carrying a fat money bag. Inuyasha looked over at his friend weighing the bag in his hand, and turned away in disgust. "Feh."

Miroku looked at Inuyasha. "What?"

"Do you have to perform a fake exorcism every time we stop somewhere?"

"This was not an exorcism. It was a blessing and a prayer for luck in their coming battle."

"Heh! About as useful. Samurai. Idiots! And why'd you have to drag me along?"

"These were not simple villagers, they were warriors. Bringing you gave me a certain status. You saw how they treated me when you brought me my staff."

"Wait a minute! You mean you made it seem like I was your servant?!"

Miroku put his hands up. "Calm down, Inuyasha. It's salesmanship, that's all."

But Inuyasha wasn't listening anymore. He had caught a scent, and was sniffing the air. Miroku gripped his staff tighter. "What is it, Inuyasha?"

"Blood. Human," Inuyasha sniffed again, "and demon." He suddenly took off in the direction of their camp.

Miroku ran after him. "Is it coming from our camp?"

"Yes, I'm certain of it!"

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They burst into the clearing where they, Sango, Kagome, Shippo, and Kilala had spent the night. There was a small, abandoned hut where they had slept. Three male human bodies were strewn about the clearing. Neither Inuyasha nor Miroku recognized them, but from the looks of their clothing, all of them had been bandits. Two of them showed vicious claw and bite marks from a large animal, and one of them had a sword in his chest. Miroku examined it. "This is Sango's sword."

Inuyasha sniffed at one the corpses. "This happened a couple of hours ago. They must have attacked soon after we left." He started walking around the clearing, looking for clues and calling out. "Kagome!"

"Sango? Shippo?" Miroku saw something in the grass. "Inuyasha, wait." Miroku went over to the patch of yellow and black and heard it mewing pitifully. Kilala was in her small cat form and trying to stand up only to keep falling down. She had blood on her claws, and was badly wounded by sword slashes on her shoulders and belly. Miroku picked her up gently. "Let's get her into the hut," said Inuyasha.

They turned back to the clearing to find Shippo coming out of the hut, holding his head in pain. "Shippo!" Inuyasha ran up to him and knelt down. "Shippo, are you all right?"

Shippo moaned and saw Inuyasha for the first time. "Inuyasha? Inuyasha! They took them! They took them away!"

"Take it easy, Shippo. Who? Where's Kagome?"

"Bandits. About a dozen. After you left, they attacked us. Kagome told me to get inside the hut. Then a bandit came in and knocked me out."

"Was Kagome with you?"

"No, she went outside to help Sango. I heard fighting for a few minutes, then I heard Sango screaming and struggling. Kagome tried to run back in here, but hands grabbed her and pulled her away. Then the bandit came in. I transformed into a statue to hide. He picked me up and examined me, but I guess he didn't think I was valuable, because he throw me away."

Inuyasha examined Shippo's head. "You've got a nasty lump on the head. I'll get one of Kagome's potions for it."

"Inuyasha, no." Shippo pushed him away. "You have to rescue Kagome and Sango! You have to go now!"

Miroku had put Kilala down. "Shippo, can you take care of Kilala?"

"Of course. Inuyasha, do you think they were after the sacred jewel shards?"

"Let's hope so," said Miroku.

Inuyasha looked at him quizzically, and turned to Shippo. "You stay with Kilala. We'll be back soon. With Kagome and Sango."

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At least one of the bandits had been wounded. With Inuyasha's nose, the blood trail was easy to follow. "There's a small village a few miles in this direction. Maybe that's their base of operations?"

Miroku nodded. "We saw some villagers yesterday that might have been refugees. Maybe the bandits cleared them out and settled in."

"Miroku, what did you mean when said you were hoping that they were after the sacred jewel shards?"

"Because the alternative is one I don't like to think about." They ran on.


	2. Chapter 2

The bandits had set out sentries around the village. Two of them were posted near the river, and looked very relaxed. They were also very talkative.

"Ah, that felt good! This heavenly spear needed that jade gate!"

"Yeah, she was something. I'll wager the miko will be even better, though."

"Maybe. But this one had fire in her eyes. Not that we didn't take it out of her."

"Yeah, she won't be nearly as much fun next time."

"Will that stop you?"

The guard grinned at his companion. "Nope." They shared a hearty laugh. One of them stopped laughing as he noticed a shadow over them. He looked up at the rock they were leaning against, and saw bare feet. He looked further up, and saw red pants, a red coat, and a very angry half-demon with his arms folded across his chest.

Inuyasha looked down at them sternly. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

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Miroku waited in a thicket on the outskirts of the village. He had a perfect vantage point as the alarm was sounded and the bandits came out of the huts and ran to where Inuyasha was causing an excellent distraction. Miroku slipped in and started searching the huts. He spied a wooden building that probably served as a blacksmith shop. Approaching it, he saw that the door was secured from the outside by a heavy board. He ran up and managed to heave the board away. He opened the door. "Sango? Kagome?"

The room was dark, with the only light coming in through the occasional slat in the boards. "Miroku? Is that you?"

"Kagome!" Miroku ran over to her. "Are you all right? Where's Sango?"

"Miroku…" Kagome sounded choked up, and looked over at a corner of the room where a figure was sitting. Miroku's eyes had adjusted somewhat to the light by now, and he saw that it was Sango.

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Inuyasha was still at the sentry post, and having a fine time now that all the bandits were there. The bandits had the advantage of numbers, but they were used to terrorizing defenseless villagers instead of fighting a real opponent. Inuyasha easily dodged their attacks, and had felt no real need to use deadly force, especially since his opponents were humans. By the time he spotted Miroku and the girls, most of the bandits had the fight beaten out of them. He took a last swipe at the remaining bandits to scare them off, then ran over to his friends. Miroku had a strange expression on his face which made Inuyasha uneasy. Kagome seemed OK, but had her arm around Sango protectively. Sango was shaking, and leaning heavily against Kagome. Her clothes were in tatters, and she kept trying to pull them over herself to cover up. Inuyasha took off his firerat cloak and wrapped Sango in it. She looked at him, embarrassed, and turned away without saying anything. He noticed fresh bruises on her face. It was obvious what the bandits had done to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were they yours?" Inuyasha turned at the mocking tone to see the bandit leader standing up. His nose was bleeding where Inuyasha had hit him, and he was missing a few more teeth, but he spoke with absolute venom. "Hey, if we'd known, we would have waited, let you join in."

Miroku stepped forward, his face a mask of furious rage. "You be quiet!"

"Oh ho! I guess she was your woman, then!" The leader looked back at his men and grinned. Some of them managed to grin back, and he chuckled as he turned to Miroku. "Well, she's not your woman anymore. You should have seen her! She took us all on! In fact," he continued, looking at Sango, "I think she's ready for a second round. Join us, monk! You can share what's left."

Miroku became suddenly calm, and held up his right hand. The bandit leader was incredulous. "What are you going to do, monk? Bless us until we plead for mercy?" That earned him a few laughs from his battered men.

Miroku's expression didn't change as he started unwrapping the prayer beads he always kept around that hand. "Kagome, any objections?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the bandits.

Kagome saw what he had in mind, and shook her head as she held Sango closer. "You won't hear any from me."

Inuyasha looked from Miroku to Kagome to Miroku. "Miroku, what the hell are you-"

Miroku had finished unwrapping the beads and stuck his hand, palm out, at the bandits. The wind tunnel opened up, sucking everything on. The bandit leader was the first to go, being drawn in head first without ever realizing what a mistake he'd made. The other bandits were sucked in, too. It was all over in a few seconds. Miroku stopped the vortex, and started wrapping the beads around his hand again, when he heard a scream. He looked up, and saw one bandit. He had apparently grabbed onto a tree limb to save himself, and now the reality of what had happened had started to sink in. Miroku ran over, and the man tried to scramble away, but Miroku hit him with his staff.

The man rolled over, facing Miroku. "Please, mercy! I'm not with them! I was their prisoner! I had nothing to do with that girl! I didn't do what they did!"

"Really?" Miroku took the beads off, then put them right back on again, so that the wind tunnel was unleashed for only a fraction of a second. The man looked down, and screamed when he saw that his leg was gone.

"I told you, I'm not with them! Please!"

Miroku grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck. "You lie!!"

"I'm not lying!"

"There's dried blood on the crotch of your trousers, you bastard! Care to explain that?!" Miroku stepped back and released the wind tunnel, again for only a fraction of a second. The man's other leg was gone, replaced by a freshly bleeding stump. "Was she tight enough for you? Or had your buddies loosened her up first? Tell me! Was she tight enough?" When the bandit didn't answer, another wind tunnel formed, and now an arm was gone. "Tell me!"

"Miroku!" Miroku felt a firm hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Inuyasha. "That's enough. Go help Kagome and Sango."

Miroku violently shrugged off Inuyasha's hand, but assented with a grunt. Without another look at his victim, he went to where Kagome was cradling Sango. Inuyasha looked down at the bandit. He was trying to move, dragging himself by his one remaining arm. He gave up and looked at Inuyasha. "Help me," he whispered, pleading with his eyes.

Inuyasha flexed his hand, readying his claws. "I'll help you," he said quietly. As the bandit closed his eyes, Inuyasha took one final swipe.


	3. Chapter 3

Sango and Kagome were in the hut while the boys waited outside. Sango hadn't said anything since they got back. Kagome treated Sango's wounds as gently as she could while Sango cradled a bandaged Kilala in her lap. Kagome finished. "All done," she said, with a smile she didn't feel. She rummaged in her kit and found two small vials and her water bottle. Kagome shook two pills from one vial and one from the other, and handed them to Sango with the water bottle. "Here, take these."

"What are they?"

"These two are called ibuprofen. They're for the pain. And this one … is what we call the morning-after pill. It's so you won't get pregnant. After …what happened."

Sango didn't react for a moment, but then she hurriedly took Kilala from her lap and handed her to Kagome, then got up and ran outside. Kagome put Kilala on the mat and got up as she heard retching sounds. She exited the hut to find Sango bent over the grass, coughing and wiping her mouth. She handed Sango the bottle, and Sango rinsed her mouth out. She stood up, leaning on Kagome for support. Kagome offered her the pills, and Sango took them with more water. Kagome started to lead her back into the hut, but Sango turned to face the boys. "Inuyasha, Miroku, thank you." She turned back and went into the hut as the two men just looked at the ground, embarrassed.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Well, screw this. I'm outta here." He stood up.

"Inuyasha, where are you going?"

"To find some answers."

Miroku's voice took on a harder tone as he stood up to face Inuyasha. "Where?"

Inuyasha stepped forward and addressed Miroku with a hard look. "Listen, Miroku. About half an hour ago, I killed a human, and I gotta tell you, it was not one of my favorite experiences. Now is not the time to be taking an attitude with me, got it, monk?"

Miroku stepped back in resignation. "When will you be back?"

"I'm going to the samurai camp to check something out. If they're cooperative, I'll be back in an hour or two."

"Inuyasha-" Miroku began, but it was too late. Inuyasha bounded away. Miroku sighed.

Kagome came out of the hut with her kit. Miroku and Shippo came over to her. "How is she?"

"She's resting. I've done all I can for right now. Now, Shippo, let's take a look at that bump."

Shippo touched his wound. "It's feeling better now."

Kagome knelt down to examine his head. "Well, you were very brave to wait while I took care of Sango."

As she took some ointment to apply to the injury, Miroku asked, "Are you all right, Lady Kagome?"

"I'm fine, Miroku. They didn't do anything to me."

"But they hurt Sango?" asked Shippo.

"That's right, Shippo. And they hurt her pretty badly, so she'll need her rest, OK?"

"OK. But why were they so angry? I could understand demons wanting revenge, but why would humans want to hurt you?"

Kagome put the ointment back into her kit. "All done. Now, Shippo, I didn't put a bandage on it, so be careful, OK?"

Miroku spoke up. "Maybe you should get some sleep, Shippo. You can use the hut; just be sure not to wake Sango."

"OK." Shippo went toward the hut, but then turned. "I'm glad you're all all right."

Miroku and Kagome watched him enter. Miroku was about to say something, but Kagome interrupted him. "I have to go refill the water bottles." She took her bow and arrows with her. Miroku sat down in front of the hut, and got comfortable.

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At the military camp, things were bustling. After the blessing, they were making final preparations to move. All the tents and equipment had been stowed, and the lord and his generals were on a nearby hill, going over their battle plan one more time. They heard a commotion coming from the main camp. When they looked, it appeared that the whole army was being thrown into disarray. Men were being thrown left and right. One of the generals excused himself, and went down to investigate. He found Inuyasha, who had grabbed one of the soldiers by the armor and was holding the terrified man off the ground. "Where is your master?"

"What is the meaning of this?" the general demanded.

Inuyasha looked over, and recognized the rank. He threw his victim away to his comrades. "I'm looking for your boss."

"The lord Sakai is indisposed at the moment. He doesn't have time for you, half-demon."

"Well, I suggest that he makes the time, because I come here to see him, not one of his lapdogs."

"Why, you.." The general reached for his sword, but was stopped by Lord Sakai, who had followed him down. The general looked at his lord. "My lord, please don't debase yourself with this upstart. Allow me to deal with him."

Inuyasha grasped the hilt of Tetsuseiga. "Deal with me, huh? Good luck with that."

"General Ikeda, stand down. I'll handle this. Go and organize the men. We move in five minutes." As the general bowed and went to take his anger out on the soldiers, Lord Sakai gave a short bow to Inuyasha. Inuyasha was surprised by this display of courtesy and returned the bow. "Now, Inuyasha-san, what is your business here?"

Inuyasha took a coat-of-arms from his coat and handed it to the lord. "Do you recognize that?"

The lord looked at it. "Where did you get it?"

"Do you recognize it or not?"

A couple of the lord's men put their hands on their swords, but the lord waved them off. "I've never seen this design before." He handed to one of his men, who looked at it and passed it on. "Now, where did you get it?"

"Off of the armor of a bandit. His gang had attacked our camp and hurt a friend of mine. And if he was one of yours…" The threat was unspoken, but obvious.

"My lord," one of the older men said, holding the crest in his hand, "if I may?"

The nobleman nodded. "You recognize it?"

"Yes, sir." Turning to Inuyasha, he said, "This is, well, was, the standard of the Ikari clan. They were destroyed years ago by their rivals. I had thought that all their samurai had died or committed seppuku, but it looks like some of them turned to banditry." The retainer shook his head. "They were an honorable house."

The lord turned to Inuyasha. "Where is their camp? How many are there?"

Inuyasha took the crest back from the soldier. "You don't need to worry about them."

"If they're on my lands, terrorized my people, they are my responsibility. I should send a detachment of troops to-"

Inuyasha shook his head. "They're no one's responsibility anymore. The gods are taking care of them now."

The lord nodded slowly. As Inuyasha made to leave, he asked, "Do you need anything from us?"

But Inuyasha was already walking away. "We'll handle it."

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Inuyasha returned to find Kagome and Miroku talking. "What's going on? How's Sango?"

"Still sleeping," said Kagome. "Listen, Inuyasha, we were thinking. Sango's been through a terrible ordeal, and she needs to recover. Kaede's village is only a few days journey from here, so…"

"Wait, we were on the way to—"

"I know, and that's not important. Sango's the priority now, and she needs a place where she can rest."

"Well, how long will she need to rest?"

"I don't know," Kagome said patiently. "As long as it takes."

Inuyasha sighed. "Fine. I suppose we should. I can take her to the village faster. We'll go on ahead, you guys fellow?"

"Sounds good to me."


	4. Chapter 4

Inuyasha bounded along the road, holding Sango in his arms. In spite of the rough ride, she was asleep. Kilala was cradled in her lap, also sleeping. Inuyasha went slower than he usually would, trying to keep the trip smooth. When they were about a kilometer away from the village, he stopped.

Sango stirred. "Are we there?"

Inuyasha lowered her to the ground. Kilala jumped off Sango's lap as it disappeared. "No, but my arms are getting tired. Do you mind walking the rest of the way? It's only a short distance."

"But-. Well, I guess not. Come on, Kilala, hop up. I'll carry you." Sango bent down to her companion.

Kilala meowed, and hoped up on to Sango's outstretched hand. She climbed into Sango's arms, but changed her mind and leapt back to the ground. She walked a little way and looked back, waiting for the others.

Sango was confused. "Kilala?"

"I guess she doesn't want to be carried right now."

"Yeah." Sango took a deep breath. "Well, let's go." She started to walk, but stopped, wincing visibly.

"Sango?"

"I'm all right. Just… just a little sore, that's all."

"Are you going to be OK to walk?"

"It'll be all right. I might need to lean on you."

"You can do that anytime."

"Thanks." They made their way down to the village.

Miroku, Kagome, and Shippo were a couple of hours behind them. Miroku carried Sango's things. Shippo was asleep in Kagome's arms. He had transformed into his balloon form to scout the road ahead, and gotten a little worn out. With Shippo out, Kagome and Miroku had lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, punctuated occasionally with attempts at conversation. Both were relieved when the village came into sight.

They found Inuyasha sitting outside of a hut. "Sango's inside, but she's sleeping. The walk was a little much for her."

"You made her walk?!" fumed Kagome.

"Only once we were in sight of the village. She said she was OK."

"Inuyasha, you're the worst—"

"Look, she'll have to walk eventually, won't she? You want I should carry her from now on?"

Still fuming, Kagome turned away, but Inuyasha was certain he heard her say "Jerk" under her breath.

"Where's Kaede?"

"She checked Sango, but she's out in the fields right now. Leave Shippo and that stuff with me for now. I'll stay here."

Miroku and Kagome went out to see Kaede. She was inspecting the paddies. Hearing them behind, she welcomed them without turning around. "Kagome, Miroku, I'm glad you arrived safely."

"Sorry to put you out, Lady Kaede."

Kaede turned to them. "In times like this, we all have to look out for each other. Come." She lead them back to the village. "We've put Sango in one of our guest huts. Miroku, you and Inuyasha can take the other."

"We appreciate it," said Kagome.

Miroku looked over the flooded fields. "It looks like it will be a good harvest this year, Lady Kaede."

"Yes, the magistrate comes in a few days to evaluate it."

Kagome recalled her history lessons. "For taxes?"

"Yes. The lord gets 10% of our crop."

They came to the village. "I'll check on Sango," said Kagome. Kaede lead Miroku to where he and Inuyasa were staying, but Kagome caught up to them before they got there. "Kaede, Sango's not in the hut."

"Do Inuyasha or Shippo know where she went?"

"Shippo's still asleep, and I didn't see Inuyasha at all, or Kilala. What's going on? Where are they?"

Miroku tried to calm her down. "Take it easy, Kagome. I'm sure they're all right. Maybe Sango took Kilala for a walk."

A passing peasant heard the conversation. "Sango? That demon-hunter girl?"

"You've seen her?"

"I caught her in my rice plot. Crazy girl was in there trying to wash herself. Trampled a dozen of my rice plants!"

"What happened?"

"I told her to get out, and she looked at me like she didn't understand me. I was about to chase her out, but that half-demon showed up and led her away."

"If she wanted to wash, she probably went to the river. Miroku, let's go."

As Kagome and Miroku ran towards the river, they heard the man call to them, "Might I suggest you put her on a leash next time?" before he turned to Kaede with his complaints.

They got to the river to find Inuyasa sitting on the bank. "Where's Sango? Is she all right?"

"She's down there, where Kilala is. I'm just standing guard. Do you know what happened?"

Kagome nodded. "We heard. I'll go and join her."

Kagome walked down the rocky river bank until she spotted Kilala. She was in her small form, and Kagome picked her up and petted her. "Hey, Kilala. Where's Sango?"

A head of shiny black hair broke the water surface. "Kagome?"

Kagome walked to the river's edge. "Sango? How are you doing?"

"I'm all right. Just washing."

"I see. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all."

Kagome set Kilala down and stripped. She eased into the water. Even in summer the water was chilly, but her body soon adjusted. "This is nice, isn't it? We haven't had a good bath in a while."

Sango kept low in the water, as if trying to submerge as much of her body as possible. "Yeah."

"How are your injuries?"

"Not too bad. They hurt less today."

"Well, this bath should help."

"Yeah."

They bathed in silence for a time, then Sango asked, "Kagome?"

"Yes, Sango?"

"Do you suppose if I stayed here long enough, the water would wash everything away?"

Kagome didn't know how to answer. "Sorry, Sango. I don't think it works like that."

"No, I suppose not." Sango lowered herself, so that she was completely submerged, then came back up ten seconds later. "So no matter how many times I do that, it won't go away?"

"No, Sango, it won't. Not entirely, at least, that's what I've heard."

Sango didn't speak. Kagome stood up. "I think I'm done. Are you coming?"

"I'm going to stay a little while longer. If that's OK."

"Sure. Stay as long as you need to." Kagome got out of the water and dried herself off. "I see you brought some towels with you."

"Inuyasha brought them. I was a little out of it for a while."

"Right." Kagome finished drying, and got dressed. "Take as much time as you need," she said before going to join Inuyasha and Miroku.

Sango dipped her head below the water again, staying under for longer this time. When she came up for air, she saw that Kilala had transformed into her big cat form, which she only did when she was in battle, needed to fly, or was concerned about Sango's safety. "Don't worry, Kilala. I'm not going to drown." She looked down at the water, and was lost in thought for a few moments. "No. No, I guess not." She looked at Kilala. "I guess that wouldn't be a good idea, would it?" She shivered. "Maybe Kagome was right. Time to go back." She got out of the water, dried herself, and got dressed. Kilala stayed in her large form, and Sango got on her back. With a growl, Kilala leapt into the air, and Sango hugged her body tightly. Kilala made a few circles around the village, just enjoying the freedom. When they landed in the village, they joined the others for dinner, and her friends were happy to note that Sango seemed better.

The next morning, Sango bathed in the river again. And again late that afternoon. This continued for several days.


End file.
